Sanitary protector for water-closet seats.



No. 634,580. Patented 00L :0, I899.

F. E. MILLER & a. .L. WHEELOCK. sAiu'rAnv PROTECTOR FOR WATER CLOSETSEATS.

l limion flied Nov. 14, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

I (No Model.)

I m VEN T086 WITNESSES:

1n: NORRIS PETERS co. wmuuruouwnsummn, 0.0.

No. 634,580. Patented Oct. 10, I899.

F. E. mLLER & G. L. WHEELUGK. I

SANITARYPBOTECTOB FOR WATER CLOSET SEATS.

, (Appliention filed Nov. 14, 1898.) (llo Iodel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

8 E S S E N T I W INVENTORS rm: xnnms min: cu, Mom-Limo wasmnn'rom n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Eric FRANK MILLER .AND GEORGE L. WHEELOOK, OF NEWYORK, N Y.

SANITARY PROTECTOR FOR WATER-CLOSETSEATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,580, dated October10, 1899.

Application filed November 14,1898. Serial r... 696,355. (No model.)

To all whom, it ntdy concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK E. MiLLER and GEORGE L. WHEELooK, citizens ofthe United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan,

city of New York, and State of New York,

have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Protectorsfor Wator-Closet Seat-s, of which the following is a specification.

A frequent cause of disease by transmission from one person to anotherbyinfection or contagion is found in the seats of water-closets andprivies, whereat persons afflicted,'with diseases of a privatenature-such as venereal diseases, comprising gonorrhea, chancroid,syphilis, and the likeand with diseases such as typhoid and dysenteryoften leave traces of virus, and if afflicted with vermin leave lice,crabs, drc. Persons fearful of transmission of disease in this mannerusually take the precautionato carefully wipeoff the seat before usingorelse tear a hole in a piece of newspaper and apply it to the seat, sothat it fits around the hole in the latter. If the paper be torn in theleast or if the seat be wet enough to saturate the paper the opportunityfor the passage of the germs, 850., to the person using the closet isoffered. Furthermore, in view of the possibilities of transmission ofdisease in thedescribed manner some sanitary method of disinfecting theafiiicted part of the body, which is both convenient and desirable,should be resorted to, and even if not wholly efficacious would bewelcomed, and hence from a secondary but important point of view thesanitary medium such as forms the subject of the presentinvention isutilizable.

The object of the present invention is to provide a protecting mediumwhich is anti septic or germ-proof and which will either kill or preventthe transfer of the germs, if there be any, from the seat to the personusing the closet, the protecting medium being conformed so as to befitted about the hole in the seat.

' The invention consists to these ends of certain new features to behereinafter described and then particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of our protectingmedium for closet-seats. Fig. 2 is a plan view' showing applied aroundthe hole.

our invention applied to a closet-scat. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionthrough the protecting medium on line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is a plan ofa blank from which the protecting medium may be made. Fig. 5 is a planview of the protecting medium made from such blank applied in properposition to acloset-seat. Fig. 6 is a transverse section through a seat,showing the modified form of protecting medium View of anothermodification, and Fig. Sis an enlarged transverse section thereof.

The fabric used for our sanitary closet-seat protector is preferablyparafiin paper, which is bothantiseptic and waterproof; but othermaterial-such as oiled paper, which is not too thick and which can passoff from the closet-bowl to the sewer without clogging thesewer-pipesmay be used.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, B indicates the preferred form ofseat-protector, which is of continuous oval or elliptic shape and has acentral opening I) to correspond with the hole 0 in seat 0. The frontportion 1) is made of such size as to extend from the front edge of thehole in theseat over the front edge of the seat itself, so that'thefront portion of the seat will be fully covered at points liable to berubbed by the genital organs or region thereof. 7 To avoid objectionsthat might be encountered from the sanitary or plumbing departments ofcities, the seat-protecting'medium B is made of a plurality of smallsections, as shown, which are joined together at at either by a solubleglue or mucilage or they may be connected by compact folds, as shown,which folds will separate more or less easily according to the head ofwater. Some adhesive substance which will dissolve under the action ofthe water is preferable, however.

As a modification the protecting medium Fig. 7 is a planmay be formedfrom a blank of paraffin or other paper, such as A, Fig. 4. The blank Ais crimped in such way by a suitable crimping mechanism as to impart acurve thereto and form. a protecting mediumsuch as B, Fig. 5- which isof oval or elliptic shape to conform to that part of the closet-seat 0around the hole G. Due to the crimping along the inneredge b or in someother way the said edge is turned down, so as to set slightly into thehole 0 and hold the main body of the protecting medium on the seat inproper p0 sition around the scat-hole. The protecting medium is so madethat the ends may overlap at a, so that it can be placed aroundseatholes of various sizes. This form of the inven tion can be used toad vantage in the country.

A person sitting on a closet-seat provided with the described protectingmedium is fully protected against poison virus or germs, as by reason ofthe im'perviousness of paraffin or oiled paper to moisture the germscannot pass through the paper, and, furthermore, the paraflin ispractically antiseptic, as it belongs to the phenol group. Theprotecting medium is therefore sanitary in its action and is conduciveto health by preventing disease and by relieving certain forms ofdisease through the medication of the body when using the same.

The modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8 is outdirectly out of paper which is preferably paraffined. The protectingmedium 61 shown is semi-elliptic in shape, with a downturned inner edged, and is applied to one end of the seat-hole. A similar piece may beapplied to the other end of the seat-hole, so that the same is quitewell protected. The direct cutting of the protecting mediums intodesired form is not preferred, as there will be Waste in cutting, andfor that reason we may crimp a straight strip, as A, into proper form;but in producing the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3 littlewaste is necessary.

The paper, Whether parafiined or not, is also impregnated with somedisinfecting or medicating liquid, such as carbolic acid, or somepleasant-smelling disinfecting liquid, such as thymol, so that theprotecting medium is rendered perfectly safe and eflicacious. Theprotecting medium if composed of paraflin-paper need only be paraffinedon one side, so that the other side, which should be uppermost,

seats, 850., the same being of a shape to con form to the hole of theseat, and being composed of sections of suitable fabric which togetherform a protecting medium, and which are temporarily connected.

2. A protecting medium for water-closet seats, &c., consisting ofa sheetof suitable fabric, made up of sections connected by an adhesivesubstance soluble in water.

In testimony that Weclaim the foregoing as our invention We have signedour names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

F. E. MILLER. GEO. 'L. WHEELOCK. tVitnesses:

G. FRED MIDDENDORF, J r.. KARL KAELBLY.

